U.S. sales of new vehicles, year-over-year, declined in three consecutive months between August and October 2016.
Forecasters expected November 2016 to be a much brighter month thanks to buoyant incentives, a lack of post-election economic turmoil, and a lengthier sales month. Indeed, auto sales rose by nearly 4 percent thanks in no small part to big gains at General Motors, America’s highest-volume manufacturer of automobiles.
Hyundai-Kia, including the new Genesis luxury brand, jumped 9 percent, an increase of nearly 10,000 sales compared with November 2015. Toyota Motor Corp., American Honda, Nissan/Infiniti, and the Ford Motor Company all produced meaningful gains, as well.
Among volume brands, Volkswagen’s 24-percent leap forward was most notable. Compared with the results reported by Volkswagen one year ago, in the immediate aftermath of the diesel emissions scandal, this looks like a positive step forward. But keep in mind, compared with November 2014, Volkswagen sales last month were down by more than 6 percent.
Kia, GMC, Ram, and Subaru also reported double-digit percentage increases.
The sharp downturn at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles continued in November as Ram became the only FCA brand to sell more new vehicles this November than during the same period one year ago. Even Jeep, up 12 percent through 2016’s first three-quarters, was down 12 percent in October. Chrysler’s 47-percent slide was the most obvious of the major losses. BMW and Mini combined for a 16-percent decline.
The Ford F-Series was America’s best-selling vehicle line in November. The Toyota Corolla barely nudged the Toyota Camry out of top spot among cars with help from the former Scion iM. The Toyota RAV4 was the top-selling utility vehicle.
| Auto Brand | November 2016 | November 2015 | % Change | 2016 YTD | 2015 YTD | % Change |
|
Acura
|
11,616 | 12,244 | -5.1% | 144,212 | 160,342 | -10.1% |
|
Alfa Romeo
|
23 | 34 | -32.4% | 464 | 603 | -23.1% |
|
Audi
|
17,118 | 16,700 | 2.5% | 187,018 | 181,803 | 2.9% |
|
BMW
|
26,189 | 32,003 | -18.2% | 280,339 | 311,398 | -10.0% |
|
Buick
|
18,530 | 15,960 | 16.1% | 208,343 | 202,347 | 3.0% |
|
Cadillac
|
15,326 | 13,390 | 14.5% | 148,560 | 154,480 | -3.8% |
|
Chevrolet
|
169,675 | 156,907 | 8.1% | 1,883,551 | 1,936,553 | -2.7% |
|
Chrysler
|
14,518 | 27,275 | -46.8% | 215,196 | 293,369 | -26.6% |
|
Dodge
|
34,075 | 42,955 | -20.7% | 470,529 | 481,084 | -2.2% |
|
Fiat
|
2,415 | 2,826 | -14.5% | 30,136 | 37,303 | -19.2% |
| Ford | 187,012 | 178,971 | 4.5% | 2,262,493 | 2,275,109 | -0.6% |
|
Genesis
|
1,306 | — | — | 5,215 | — | — |
|
GMC
|
49,113 | 43,039 | 14.1% | 483,213 | 498,756 | -3.1% |
|
Honda
|
111,308 | 103,197 | 7.9% | 1,333,253 | 1,275,316 | 4.5% |
|
Hyundai
|
61,201 | 60,007 | 2.0% | 707,485 | 698,202 | 1.3% |
|
Infiniti
|
12,112 | 11,694 | 3.6% | 120,095 | 118,405 | 1.4% |
|
Jaguar
|
3,381 | 1,065 | 217% | 26,949 | 13,269 | 103% |
|
Jeep
|
67,285 | 76,689 | -12.3% | 843,217 | 784,040 | 7.5% |
|
Kia
|
52,504 | 45,553 | 15.3% | 593,245 | 571,577 | 3.8% |
|
Land Rover
|
5,659 | 6,539 | -13.5% | 65,582 | 62,141 | 5.5% |
|
Lexus
|
29,050 | 29,340 | -1.0% | 290,046 | 303,221 | -4.3% |
|
Lincoln
|
9,429 | 7,918 | 19.1% | 98,933 | 90,367 | 9.5% |
|
Maserati
|
1,380 | 1,084 | 27.3% | 10,838 | 10,625 | 2.0% |
|
Mazda
|
22,041 | 22,732 | -3.0% | 269,019 | 289,889 | -7.2% |
|
Mercedes-Benz °
|
30,363 | 30,043 | 1.1% | 308,226 | 308,885 | -0.2% |
|
Mercedes-Benz Vans °
|
2,564 | 2,770 | -7.4% | 30,444 | 25,843 | 17.8% |
|
Total Mercedes-Benz °
|
32,927 | 32,813 | 0.3% | 338,670 | 334,728 | 1.2% |
|
Mini
|
4,507 | 4,444 | 1.4% | 47,372 | 53,505 | -11.5% |
|
Mitsubishi
|
6,896 | 6,772 | 1.8% | 88,884 | 87,455 | 1.6% |
|
Nissan
|
103,024 | 95,389 | 8.0% | 1,291,585 | 1,227,213 | 5.2% |
|
Porsche
|
5,513 | 4,450 | 23.9% | 50,265 | 47,820 | 5.1% |
|
Ram
|
42,511 | 37,952 | 12.0% | 492,254 | 442,554 | 11.2% |
|
Smart
|
563 | 662 | -15.0% | 5,025 | 6,815 | -26.3% |
|
Subaru
|
51,308 | 46,070 | 11.4% | 551,955 | 526,401 | 4.9% |
|
Scion °
|
170 | 1,702 | -90.0% | 11,925 | 31,086 | -61.6% |
|
Toyota °
|
168,425 | 158,475 | 6.3% | 1,904,388 | 1,926,660 | -1.2% |
|
Toyota
|
168,595 | 160,177 | 5.3% | 1,916,313 | 1,957,746 | -2.1% |
|
Volkswagen
|
29,672 | 23,882 | 24.2% | 285,719 | 318,484 | -10.3% |
|
Volvo
|
7,723 | 6,902 | 11.9% | 72,595 | 60,705 | 19.6% |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
BMW-Mini
|
30,696 | 36,447 | -15.8% | 327,711 | 364,903 | -10.2% |
|
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
|
160,827 | 187,731 | -14.3% | 2,051,796 | 2,038,953 | 0.6% |
|
DaimlerAG
|
33,490 | 33,475 | 0.0% | 343,695 | 341,543 | 0.6% |
|
Ford Motor Co.
|
196,441 | 186,889 | 5.1% | 2,361,426 | 2,365,476 | -0.2% |
|
General Motors
|
252,644 | 229,296 | 10.2% | 2,723,667 | 2,792,136 | -2.5% |
|
Honda Motor Co.
|
122,924 | 115,441 | 6.5% | 1,477,465 | 1,435,658 | 2.9% |
|
Hyundai-Kia
|
115,011 | 105,560 | 9.0% | 1,305,945 | 1,269,779 | 2.8% |
|
Jaguar-Land Rover
|
9,040 | 7,604 | 18.9% | 92,531 | 75,410 | 22.7% |
|
Nissan Motor Co.
|
115,136 | 107,083 | 7.5% | 1,411,680 | 1,345,618 | 4.9% |
|
Toyota Motor Corp.
|
197,645 | 189,517 | 4.3% | 2,206,359 | 2,260,967 | -2.4% |
|
Volkswagen Group *
|
52,690 | 45,220 | 16.5% | 525,176 | 550,212 | -4.6% |
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
|
Industry Total
|
1,378,635
|
1,330,460
|
3.6%
|
15,850,640
|
15,844,222
|
0.04% |
Source: Manufacturers
[Image Source: Subaru]
* Volkswagen Group includes sales figures for Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Volkswagen brands
° Mercedes-Benz USA releases sales figures for the Mercedes-Benz brand in the conventional sense, vans excluded, as well as totals for the Metris and Sprinter vans. The complete picture is included here.
° Scion’s sales figures are now folded in to Toyota’s, but the Scion brand here includes sales of outgoing Scions as well as Scions that are becoming Toyotas. We have included the complete picture for clarity’s sake.
** Industry total takes into account Automotive News figures/estimates for brands such as Tesla (2,250 November units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
Looks like that change to aluminum is really hurting Ford pickup sales.
Sales are so poor they are in real danger of exceeding production capacity.
Actually I am curious why everyone must have one, apparently.
Matches their beer cans?
Gotta feel like you are saving the world.
If I were buying a truck, the F-150 is the one I’d buy. I’m no truck fan and I think it still looks cool.
Yeah, a big cab F-150 with the 2.7 ecoboost is more roomy than my full size sedan, about as quick to 60 / through the 1/4 mile, and gets comparable mileage (according to the EPA).
I don’t see myself shelling out for a truck anytime soon but it’s amazing you get that mix of power, efficiency, and utility.
yamahog I agree. I still lean towards the SUV body style for ultimate utility (more passenger possibilities, better for dogs, can recline rear row of seats) but on the other hand I much prefer the pickup truck’s more off-road centric bent (solid rear axles, availability of rear lockers on the F150s). When I went test driving fullsizers this summer, the F150 stood out to me as the overall goldilocks choice, with the Tundra Crewmax in the running as well. I wasn’t sold on the Ecoboost 3.5 in terms of response (potentially a transmission tuning thing too), the Ram Hemi + 8spd struck me as the best powertrain in terms of how it drove.
gtemnykh – I’ve heard the same thing said about the 6.2 Chevy.
I had an EB 3.5 SuperCrew rental for a little over a week and I was impressed with the power. In some respects the power delivery felt similar to my 5.4 but just way more power. It felt faster if one rolled the throttle on and avoiding a downshift.
It did not have much compression braking.I found that it would need to be at least a gear lower than my 5.4 to hold speed on a steep downhill. Mind you, I found that the Pentastar V6 I test drove didn’t have much compression braking either.
Acura went to all aluminum?
@Lou_BC
It would appear the ” Big 3″ are GM,Toyota and Ford in that order. Aluminium or chewing gum has little relevance to why Ford is trending down. I expect Toyota in the coming years to be even more dominate. I wonder if it’s dominance in the NASCAR competition could be a contributing factor?
RobertRyan – It appears that Toyota products with the exception of the Tundra are well accepted in the USA and Canada for that matter. NASCAR has a huge audience in the USA.
I objectively like pickups such as the new F150, but when I think about my usage of such a vehicle a Suburban/Expedition really makes a lot more sense. It’s seriously hard to think of a better rounded vehicle than one of the GM fullsize SUV triplets. They can do really just about anything that can be asked of a vehicle, very impressed with the new generation.
VW is on track to barely break 300K in sales this year. In Subaruland, that’s January through June’s sales numbers…
Nissan quietly doing better than all other Japanese brands.
YES, because a 7.9% gain is **so much worse** than an 8% gain. That 0.1% must have them deliriously happy.
Or, I guess “doing better” equals selling less cars, as Toyota and Honda each outsold Nissan.
Helps when you take $4-14k off every pickup truck sold.
Wow. Porsche has made nice gains (Macan?). And who exactly are the 464 folks that bought Alfas this year?
Not sure, but I saw one (a 4C, nonetheless) on the highway here this past weekend.
“** Industry total takes into account Automotive News figures/estimates for brands such as Tesla (2,250 November units) and other low-volume, high-priced manufacturers.”
I see this notation, but Tesla is now outselling 7 other brands YTD, without even being listed in the table. Couldn’t an estimate of their volume be posted in the chart with a footnote saying it’s an estimate due to the company’s disinterest in reporting monthly numbers?
I mean, they’re not exactly Pagani.
5 of 11 months in 2016 have beaten the same month in 2015, yet YTD sales are flat due to the other 6 months which were down.
Incentives and terms are larger than before. We’re at Peak Car.
Ever-larger incentives point to Peak Car.
Ever-longer terms point to Peak Middle Class.
Chrysler is rapidly becoming a zombie brand. We have the Pacifica and….and………..well, if you want RWD mobster mobile based on a 2-generations ago Mercedes chassis we have the 300 and……….
OK, we got the Pacifica!
The Chrysler brand is certainly starved for product. (Where are the crossovers?) But the 300 remains thoroughly competitive in every objective regard save, perhaps, for IIHS small overlap testing. Dismissing the LX cars as outdated Mercedes castoffs unfairly ignores all of the improvements that Chrysler’s made since 2005.
The real appeal of the 300 is the absurdly low lease deals. $259 for a loaded awd 300s? How can you say no to such a deal ? And they still didn’t sell any.
The 300/Charger basically own the shriveled full-size sedan market. Why spend any more money for the same result?
with 3000 due at signing and 42 month lease
Nope. Here in Metro Detroit, they practically give the things away. First month, and Chrysler Friends and Family…
Hey, I contributed one sale on this list!
As did I, for Honda.
Ditto!
I’m impressed. The sales were way higher than I speculated. Not seeing many new vehicles where I live and I’m in an area with some cash.
I was really hoping that Chevrolet sales would collapse so they would drop their idiotic Focus Group TV ads.
But they’re with real people, not actors!
I *love* those commercials. Also, I listen to talk radio for the wit and insight of the callers.
At some point, we are going to have to face an inconvenient truth: Subaru knows what they are doing.
But, head gaskets! But CV boots! But oil consumption! But Rust! But…
And the Pinto blew up when being hit in the rear. Things change, look forward.
Exactly my point.
Their CVTs are the only thing that keep me away. Have driven two friend’s ’13 – ’15 cars and was in a fit of rage in city driving after a mile or so.
Used car prices are also very good right now. An current Gen Accord, Fusion, Camry, Sonata etc. can be have for around have the price with only 2 years mileage (30k), that to me is a bargain if you need a reliable vehicle for work and family.
I feel good because I also contributed to the list this month for the first time in about… 10 years.
I foresee BMW pulling out all the stops this month to move some of their inventory bloat.
Which, for those that leased a BMW 3 years ago, this is great news! They may be able to get a new lease for less $$ per month than their current.
Someone had mentioned, peak car. I am not sure about that, but I respectfully ask: Have we reached peak BMW? A step further: Have we reached peak luxury car (Lexus was down as well)?
Should we start an FCA Deathwatch?
FCA said overall retail demand dropped 2 percent and fleet volume was off 42 percent last month.
So it looks like it started all on its own
Camaro just had its worst month in *2* years, and still has 5 months of inventory on-hand. So much for the ballyhoo about October’s sales.
GM, when will you take a 3-month break from building Camaros?
Meanwhile, Mustang has just 1.5 months of inventory, meaning Ford is well-prepared for the slow winter months.
Can we start a Mazda death watch? How do they stay in the market selling volumes less than 20% of what the Japanese majors do?